


I chose him

by swimmiNgDiNosauR



Series: Telephone Calls [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Heartbreak, telephone call
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:22:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimmiNgDiNosauR/pseuds/swimmiNgDiNosauR
Summary: Melinda's mother is calling and Melinda doesn't want to talk about what's happened. She picks up eventually.Set after 5x22. Spoilers.





	I chose him

Her phone rings. _Again_. She’s almost convinced to pick it up but then she decides not to. She turns it on silent and continues with her tai chi, occasionally glaring at the device. Phil comes in and sees her warming up so he stays and watches

“Hey,” Phil greets.

Melinda nods, giving her phone one last glare. She ignores Phil’s questioning look. She finishes tai chi and moves onto the punching bag. Melinda stops dead in her tracks and sighs when she hears her phone buzzing. She has half a mind to shoot her phone but that would only incite Phil’s amusement. She picks up her phone and steels herself.

“Finally,” her mother snaps across the phone. “What convinced you, the consistent calling?”

Melinda doesn’t answer, knowing that anything she says will just further annoy her mother. Her silence is almost as bad but she takes the risk.

“Are you going to talk to me at all, Qiaolian?” Lian asks.

Melinda swallows. If she doesn’t say anything now, her mother is going to blow her lid. “Hi, Mama,” she chooses.

“Hmph,” Lian grumbles. “About time. I saw the news. Are you alright?”

Melinda sighs and glares at the wall.

“What’s that sigh for?” Lian asks with a pointed tone. “Why aren’t you answering my calls?”

_Because you always know when something’s wrong, even why I try and keep it from you._

_Because I don’t want to talk about it._

_Because you’ll make me tell you what’s wrong and I can’t do that._

She doesn’t say any of that. Instead, she starts talking about the brilliant whiteness of the sand and the crystal clear water. She tells her mother about the palm trees with pretty green leaves.

“Enough, Qiaolian,” her mother says eventually. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

Melinda stays silent. She locks eyes with Phil who nods. He knows she needs this. Needs to have her mother comfort her.

“Qiaolian?” Lian asks again. “Please, sweetheart, what’s bothering you?”

Her eyes water suddenly and she sniffs. “Phil’s dying,” she blurts out, wiping away a tear. “And Fitz…” She can’t say it. She can’t. She liked Fitz. He was so sweet and innocent when she first met him and he grew up so quickly. He saved her life more than once and she couldn't even save his. “Fitz died,” she cries, “And I was right there.”

She hears her mother sigh. “Melinda, was there anything you could have done for him?”

Melinda shrugs. She could have seen it coming, could have been faster. Protected him.

“Was there anything you could have done?” Lian asks again.

“Mama…” she trails off.

“There wasn’t, was there,” Lian says firmly. “Fitz died protecting you–”

“He didn’t! He was just standing there, getting off the spaceship … and the building started collapsing,” Melinda says, fighting a sob.

Phil comes over to her, wrapping her up in his arms.

“And Phil didn’t take the serum that could have saved him and now he’s got days to live,” she sniffles.

“Why not?” Lian asks. Melinda hears the razor-sharp edge of her voice.

“’Cause he saved the world instead,” she sobs, burying her face in Phil’s shirt.

“And you wanted to save him, even if it meant letting the world die,” Lian says, understanding.

“I saw the future and the world was quaked apart and I still wanted to save him,” she mumbles.

“Well, you make sure you spend the rest of the days you have with him,” Lian says. “And please tell me you’ve gotten together by now.”

Melinda smiles. “Yeah.”

“Do you love him?” Lian asks. She wants Melinda to be happy.”

“Yeah,” Melinda says. She looks up at Phil and smiles. “Yeah, I love him.”

Phil grins and kisses her forehead.

“Good,” Lian says. “Now stop talking to me and go find him.”

“Yes, Mama,” she says dryly. “Thank you,” she says quietly. She feels much better. She should never have tried to ignore her.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” Lian hangs up.

Melinda turns her phone off and chucks it in the direction of the couch. She hears it thud softly on the leather. She hums in contentment. Phil tilts her head up and captures her lips in a gentle kiss.

“You’d choose me over the world, huh?” he teases.

She scowls at him. “You know I would.”

“I know,” he reassures her. “I don’t think I could choose anything over you, either.”

“Yes, you could,” Melinda says. “You have the strength to do it.”

“So do you,” he says with a frown.

“But I don’t. I smashed the odium because I couldn’t let you die and you didn’t even take it,” Melinda says, a little bitterly. She doesn't regret it, even though she wishes she did.

“Hey,” Phil says, cupping her face in his hands. “I don’t blame you. You had a tough choice and you made the hard call."

“But it wasn’t the right one and now… Now Fitz is dead and you’re dying!” Tears well up in her eyes again. “I don’t wanna lose you again,” she says softly.

“You won’t. I promise. I’ll always be with you, even if you can’t see me,” Phil vows. He's never going to leave her behind. Even in the afterlife, he'll be waiting.

Melinda gives him a watery smile and presses tighter against him. She doesn’t ever want to be without him again.

She can find a way, she tells herself even when her brain tells her she’s only fooling herself.


End file.
